That’s What Black Lines on School Buses Are For

Black stripes on yellow school buses aren’t an element of design. They’re actually metal rails put along the sides and the back of the bus to protect its rather thin walls. In case of a collision, they absorb most of its force. It means that the crash doesn’t affect large areas.

These “rub rails” are also positioned in strategically important spots. The lowest one runs at the floor level. The middle matches the bottom of the seats. And the top one corresponds either to the top of the seats or the bottom of the window.

Your ceiling fan can move in more than one direction for a reason: one is for summer, the other — for winter. When the weather is hot, ceiling fans should move counterclockwise. This makes them pull the warm air up and push the cold air down. And the clockwise — winter — mode moves the warm air down and raises the cool air.

As soon as you notice the blue bristles on your toothbrush start fading, it’s a sure sign that it’s time to replace it.

You can adjust your stapler so that it staples documents together only temporarily. It’s done by rotating the crimp area. Most staplers have two options for stapling. One is standard. But the other side bends staples away from the center. Later, when you don’t need them anymore, you can easily remove them by hand.

Lots of people use a knife to remove strawberry stems. But this way, they throw away lots of stuff they could otherwise eat. Instead of a knife, use a regular drinking straw. Insert one end of the straw into the bottom of the strawberry and push it gently all the way through. If everything goes as planned, the straw will pop the stem out.

A tiny hole in a padlock bottom helps to drain the water from the outdoor lock after the rain. It prevents the thing from rusting and clogging. You can also use this hole to oil the lock’s hinges so that it doesn’t get stuck. If a lock doesn’t have this small hole, you should only use it inside.

It’s a bad idea to place dirty dishes covered in mashed potatoes (or any other leftover carbs) closer to the sides of the bottom shelf of your dishwasher. Several studies have shown that such plates get washed better when you put them in the middle of the rack. So now you know.

Weird markings on the bottom of a toothpaste tube have nothing to do with the ingredients. They’re actually there for the factory robots. Not so they can brush their own teeth either. Such a colorful square marks the line where the tube has to be cut and folded.

Most cotton pads have two different textures on each of their sides. One surface is firmer and more absorbent. It’s supposed to be used with nail polish remover. The other side is way finer and softer. You should use it to remove facial and eye makeup.

Don’t peel post-it notes off from the bottom. It’ll create a crease in the paper, and the note won’t stick well after that. Tear it off from the side, and it’ll stick for longer!

While driving when it’s already dark, you might get blinded by the headlights of the car moving behind yours. If you have a manual rearview mirror, find a tab at the bottom and flip it. The mirror has a reflective material behind its glass. By flipping the tab, you change the angle of this material, dimming the lights in the mirror. The whole process is even simpler if you have a power mirror. All you need to do is to switch on the nighttime mode.

Bath foam relieves stress, cleanses the skin, AND keeps the water warm! Foam is made up of tiny air bubbles. They form an insulating layer on the water surface, keeping the heat from escaping.

Let’s say, you’re reading a paper book. Then you decide to take a break and realize you don’t have a bookmark. Should you leave a dog ear? You don’t need to — that’s what the dust jacket is for! Apparently, providing you with the information about the book and its author isn’t its only purpose.

Your stomach growls, and suddenly, a peanut butter sandwich sounds like a great idea! You open a jar... and see quite a lot of oil sitting on the top! Duh, time to train your arm muscles and stir, stir, stir...

But if you store peanut butter jars upside down, the oil will move to the bottom, and all the solids will be on top!

The main purpose of the drawer under your oven isn’t to store all those pots and pans! You’re supposed to use this place to keep your food warm while something else is being prepared in the oven!

If you don’t have anywhere to put a toothpick after using it, snap off the flat end at the first groove and put it on the table. Now, you can balance the used part of your toothpick on the grooved part so that it doesn’t have to touch the table.

The correct way to break off a piece of a Toblerone chocolate bar is by pushing the pointy side downward. Me? I just bite it off, but then I’m hardly ever accused of being correct.

Most extension cords are known to come undone at even the slightest pull. Loosely tie them together, and they’ll stay connected even if you accidentally pull on them. The knot might get tighter, but nothing will get switched off.

A little groove on the bottom of a cup lets cool air get underneath it. It saves glassware from cracking when a scorching beverage heats it up. And when you place cups upside down in the dishwasher, the grooves prevent water from gathering in the cups’ bottoms.

Nonstick pans have a special coating, which makes them so great. But if you use metal utensils while dealing with such a pan, you’re likely to scratch this coating. And once you do it, your pan is ruined. Food will start to stick to its surface and end up burned or unevenly cooked.

If you’ve always peeled bananas starting from the stem, try doing it the other way round. Pinch the bottom of the banana and pull. This way, you won’t have to deal with strings and mess. By the way, that’s the approach monkeys use. And you don’t want to argue with monkeys.

Most caps on small tubes are hollow on top and have a little spike inside. Its purpose is to break the foil sticker sealing the tube. The neck of the tube fits right in this hole, and the spike is designed to break the seal. No need to struggle, trying to tear the tiny foil seal off with your fingers!

The more detergent you use, the cleaner your clothes are, right? Not exactly. If you add too much detergent, you can spoil your things. This will produce too many suds, and your clothes won’t be rubbing against one another! And that’s exactly what helps them get clean. Excess suds can also keep your washing machine from rinsing properly.

Book pages are often printed on large sheets of paper rather than on small individual ones. If there isn’t enough content to fill these sheets, there are blank pages left. Publishers often print the word “Notes” or leave some other signs on them. This way, readers don’t think it’s a printing mistake.

The rumble strips on the side of the road are supposed to wake up sleepy drivers who start to doze off behind the wheel. When your tires drift off onto these strips, the noise and vibration work like an alarm clock!

It’s a popular misconception that pumping a mascara wand back and force allows more product to stay on it. In reality, doing this will only spoil your mascara. By moving the wand, you push air inside the tube. This not only produces flakes and clumps but also makes the mascara dry out.

A dime-sized hole in the elevator doors is a keyhole. If the doors get stuck, an operator can open them manually by inserting a special key in this hole. The same tool is used when an elevator needs routine maintenance.

The bubbles in your soda push the straw up when they balance the buoyancy with the mass of the straw. But you can keep your straw from rising in your soda can by putting it through the hole in the metal pull ring. Ah, the science behind soda cans.

Those squares of fabric that come with clothes are for you to try out your cleaning products on them first. This way, you won’t ruin the entire item once you decide to wash it.

The soft round part under a soda bottle cap keeps the bubbles from escaping. Without it, your pop would go flat in no time, probably even before you buy it. And what’s worse, if you bought the flat drink for your dad, then your pop’s pop won’t pop.

The utility knife is supposed to last way longer than most people think. The knife blade is made of narrow parallel sections. When the instrument gets blunt, break off the top section with the cap you can find at the bottom. Voilà, you have a brand-new sharp blade again! But don’t forget to put on a pair of safety gloves and goggles before doing it! Yes, it’s another sharp tip from Bright Side!